The Taming of the Shrew- Shakespeare in the Park

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 11:57pm

Was anyone else there tonight? I went tonight and really enjoyed it, despite not knowing the play outside of the very basic premise. Spoilers below, for anyone who doesn't want to know about the production itself.

 

The production is set in a sort of hybrid rodeo/circus ring, and the show opens with a "Donald Trump" voiceover announcing beauty pageant contestants, and its here we meet Bianca and Katherina. The beauty contest, however, is only a loose framing device, and after this the play proceeds pretty much as usual. There are certainly cuts, as the production runs only 90 minutes (no intermission), but as far as I could tell the basic structure of the play remains. At the end, after Kate fully submits herself to Petruchio, it is announced that she has won the contest, and she is awarded a crown, flowers and a sash. Almost instantly, she rips everything off in a rage, and tells Bianca to run away, and at this point, Kate is whisked away and Bianca is crowned the new winner. I don't know how others will respond to it, but I found the ending really effective. In a general sense, this production is really playing with the malleable aspects of gender identity and performance, and I don't think there's a better representation of performed femininity than a beauty pageant. The all-female casting helps with this a great deal- none of the actors are really disguised as men, but everyone really plays up the hyper-masculinity of their characters, so the falseness and posturing is very apparent. 

Though I think the production is making a strong point, it's fortunately not at all academic or ponderous about tackling a play that borders on disturbing- it's still a very fun evening. Janet McTeer is a fantastic Petruchio- she nails his idiotic swagger, and is genuinely funny and incredibly cruel to Kate as the play progresses. Cush Jumbo is also very funny and sympathetic as Kate, though some of her outbursts towards the top of the play felt mildly forced. The whole cast is generally excellent, with special mention for Gayle Ranking as an over-the-top Bianca, Adrienne C. Moore as a very fun Tranio, and Donna Lynne Champlin as a beautifully hapless Hortensio. 

I was able to get tickets tonight around 5:30- normally I do the standby line, but they still had tickets left so they hadn't started one yet. Still, I imagine this will get some very strong reviews, and I'd encourage people to try to see it early- it's really a great night. 

[brdway411]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 11:29pm

Just got home, I loved it. Was not sure how the all female cast would work and it did. A lot of fun. I would not wait too long to see this. Easy line this morning, but once word gets out it  might get more difficult. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 11:40pm

I went tonight as well. I won the TodayTix lotto. I spoke to an usher casually before the show, and she said that TodayTix seems to have been giving out a pretty considerable number of tickets - more than the digital lotto in the past. The OP says it ran 90 minutes last night, but tonight it was 2 hours and 10 minutes with no intermission. It really flew by for me, though. 

I really enjoyed the show as well. I thought the whole production was well-acted and well put together. Performance stand-outs for me include (but are not limited to): Janet McTeer as Petruchio, Adrienne C. Moore (whom I recognized from Orange is the New Black) as Tranio, Donna Lynne Champlin as Hortensio and Judy Gold and Gremio. 

The beauty contest element was really interesting as a beginning and ending, and worked really well for the message they were getting across. My only criticism would be that it didn't feel like it was followed throughout the show. Kind of like the framing device added to the current revival of Fiddler, the placement at the beginning and end while leaving it out of the middle, made it feel a bit forced. I enjoyed this framing device more than the one in Fiddler though. The ending in this production was actually quite powerful, poignant and even disturbing. 

The circus element also confused me a bit, especially in conjunction with the beauty pageant. I suppose the concept is to point out the societal norms that force women to be in a constant state of performance, though maybe I'm reading too much into it. 

I really enjoyed the same director's Henry IV - unfortunately missed Julius Caesar, though I would have loved to see it. I'd definitely recommend this production, especially if you enjoyed her previous work. It's a beautiful reclaiming and re-interpretation of this sexist play. 

Updated On: 5/25/16 at 11:40 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 12:04am

For those who waited in line, how early did you go?

[Telegram Spam]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 12:12am

I did the standby line for tonight's (May 25th) performance. The line began just after 5:30. The raccoon in residence kept  everybody entertained until standby tickets were distributed at 7:30. Unfortunately, in retrospect, the raccoon was the highlight of the evening.

The problem isn't with the performances - many of which are already quite strong for a second preview - nor is it with the staging. The problem is that, in the second half of the play, the dynamic between Petruchio and Kate is no longer funny. While it may have knocked them dead 400 years ago, today it is merely offensive. This is undoubtedly true for Western audiences in general, and is certainly true for a sophisticated New York audience in particular. 99 percent of tonight's audience sat in stone silence for much of the second-half back and forth between these..."lovers." An all female cast does nothing to solve this problem. Today some lines sound as though they were lifted from a Taliban/ISIS rule book on the acceptable role of women. (The real solution is to jettison Shakespeare's script and replace it with "Kiss Me Kate" from here on.) 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 12:25am

Telegram Spam said: "99 percent of tonight's audience sat in stone silence for much of the second-half back and forth between these..."lovers.""
 

That is true. There was indeed an eerie silence in the audience during these scenes. And I agree that they were disconcerting, but I felt that the director was very aware of that. Is it possible that the director made it less funny on purpose? The more serious take on the ending certainly indicated that she was willing to subvert Shakespeare's comic intentions to point out the gross misogyny. 

[brdway411]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 1:17am

VintageSnarker said: "For those who waited in line, how early did you go? "

 

 

I went up around 7:45 am today and was about 35th in line. I got great seats too (I know it's random, but past years I have been in the last row with NO LEG ROOM, so it was nice to actually be comfortable for the show.) 

 

Yes, the audience was silent for the second half. I did find it a little uncomfortable, but not unwatchable. I forgot about a few botched lines.  

[richsmo]

Posted: 5/29/16 at 12:53pm

Yes, the audience was silent for the second half. I did find it a little uncomfortable, but not unwatchable. I forgot about a few botched lines.  

 

Anyone see it past couple of nights? Similar sentiment about 2nd half?

Also - do you all think the show is appropriate for all ages (tweens and up?)

[Debbie77]

Posted: 5/29/16 at 1:16pm

SPOILER ALERT:

 

 

 

 

 

I saw the show 5/29. I thought the audience was fine and NOT silent in the second half.  In fact, kind of the opposite.  Some smart-a$$'s were yelling  and heckling during Judy's "stand-up" portion.  

Very hot and steamy night. Kudo's to the actors for their performance Nader less then optimal conditions.

[caringtype1]

Posted: 5/29/16 at 1:58pm

I saw the show on 5/27 and I don't remember the audience being silent during the second half. I enjoyed this production very much. The cast was quite good, especially the actress playing Kate. 

[wonkit]

Posted: 5/30/16 at 1:25pm

I am fascinated that there is a framing device (sounds just a little lame, actually) being used. Why not use the one Shakespeare wrote, Christopher Sly the drunkard being fooled by a troupe of players? The last production of SHREW that I saw used it (New York Classical, last summer), and it made the plot seem more like an extended practical joke out of control than an anti-feminist pro-wife beater story.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/3/16 at 3:39am

Went tonight and really enjoyed it. It's not a perfect production, but I really enjoyed the director. Does it usually just end with Cate's monologue?! How awful. 

I got there today around 11:30/11:45 and got great front row tickets. And it wasn't sold out despite their having a side that said it!

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/3/16 at 12:21pm

I think part of the reason Shakespeare's framing device is rarely used is because other than the opening scene, the rest of the device is commonly considered to be a fabrication by a later author. I guess most people think, if we're going to interpolate someone else's work into Shakespeare, it might as well be our own, as opposed to someone else's fix-up.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/3/16 at 12:31pm

"Why not use the one Shakespeare wrote, Christopher Sly the drunkard being fooled by a troupe of players?"

Because, although Shakespeare is volubly regarded as History's Greatest Playwright, no one really wants to use the texts attributed to him. (i.e., "This play is perfect! Let's re-write it!"

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 6/3/16 at 1:33pm

In case anyone was wondering, they had tons of seats for the Standby line last night. I got on line at 6:45pm and at 7:30pm they handed out tickets to the entire line. Due to an issue with the patron in the seat next to me, at 7:55pm I went back outside to see if I would be able to move to another seat, and they still had a whole stack left. They ended up giving me 4th row center!

I wasn't really familiar with the play beforehand, how does it normally end? Are there scenes after Katherine's monologue? Also, I'm not sure I really got the part when the one character speaks to the audience in modern language about current events. It was funny, but felt weird.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/3/16 at 1:55pm

There's about five lines after Kate's monologue (which is the longest in the show) but it is essentially the end of the play. Some productions have in the past tried to put a spin on it, like having Kate give a sarcastic delivery to it, but it's still always there. 

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 6:54pm

Does anyone have an approximate runtime of the last couple performances ?

[cglaid]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 9:41pm

I was there on Sunday night. Granted, we started about 40 minutes late (due to projected rain, and rain up until 8 pm), the show ended around 10:30 if I'm not mistaken. The show was great. And actually, the rain added an entire new layer. The cast really took advantage of it, and committed to lying down on stage, etc. Their costumes must've been wrecked, heavy and so cold. It also was very empty - but most likely very weather-related, maybe 40% of capacity. Adrienne C Moore was out, but her understudy was fantastic (her name escapes me, sorry) and Janet McTeer brought her forward for her own curtain call - classy.